Tuesday, February 17, 2015

leFH 18/2 auf Fgst Kpfw II (Sf) SdKfz 124 Wespe

Even as early as 1939 it was obvious that the days of the little
PzKpfw II tank were numbered, for it lacked both armament and
armour, However, it was in production and quite reliable, so when
the need arose for self-propelled artillery the PzKpfw II was
selected to be the carrier for the 10.5- cm (4.13-in) leFH 18 field
howitzer. The conversion of the tank hull to carry the howitzer was
quite straightforward, for the howitzer was mounted behind an open
topped armoured shield towards the rear of the hull and the area
where the turret had been was armoured over and the space used for
ammunition stowage. Maximum armour thickness was 18 mm (0.7
in).

The result was the self-propelled howitzer known as the Wespe
(wasp) though its full official designation was rather more
cumbersome: leFH 18/2 auf Fgst Kpfw II (Sf) SdKfz 124 Wespe, but to
everyone it was just the Wespe, It was a very popular little
self-propelled weapon that soon gained for itself a reputation for
reliability and mobility. The first of them were based on the
PzKpfw II Ausf F chassis and went into action on the Eastern Front
during 1943. On this front they were used by the divisional
artillery batteries of the Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions.
They were usually organized into batteries of six howitzers with up
to five batteries to an Abteilung (battalion).

The Wespe was so successful in its artillery support role that
Hitler himself made an order that all available PzKpfw II chassis
production should be allocated to the Wespe alone, and the many
other improvised weapons on the PzKpfw II chassis were dropped or
their armament diverted to other chassis. The main Wespe
construction centre was the Famo plant in Poland, and there
production was so rapid that by mid-1944 682 examples had been
built. Some time around that date manufacture of the Wespe ceased,
but not before 158 had been completed without howitzers; these
vehicles had the gap in the armour plate for the howitzer sealed
off, the space behind the armour being used for resupply ammunition
needed by batteries in the front line.

A typical Wespe went into action carrying its crew of five,
including the driver, and 32 rounds of ammunition. A Wespe battery
was completely mobile, although some of the vehicles were
soft-skinned trucks for carrying ammunition and other supplies. The
forward observers were usually carried in light armoured vehicles
although some batteries used ex- Czech or captured French tanks for
this purpose. Fire orders were relayed back to the battery by
radio, and from the battery fire command post the orders were
further relayed to the gun positions by land lines, The howitzer
carried on the Wespe was the standard 10.5-cm leFH 18 as used by
towed batteries (although most were fitted with muzzle brakes) and
so used the same ammunition, They also had the same range of 10675m
(11,675 yards).

Main variant: The Ammunition carrier
Since the Wespe was cramped and could only carry limited ammo, the Munitionschlepper auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II,
or more simply "Munitionschlepper auf Wespe", was designed as a
weaponless variant, entirely filled with storage boxes containing 90 105
mm (4.13 in) shells, to complement the limited supply of regular Wespes
(32 rounds). 159 were built in all, by the same manufacturer and two
were attached to each unit (Abteilung) of six Wespes. The modifications
were modular and each could be converted in the field to a regular SPG
at a moment's notice.

It must be noted that, before the Wespe, another SPG was based
on the Panzer II chassis, the rare (only 12 built) 15 cm (5.9 in) sIG 33
auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf) which fought in North Africa.
The old, but still efficient, 150 mm (5.9 in) was much heavier and in
order to cope with that the superstructure was lowered considerably,
exposing the crew to small arms fire.

The "Wespe" in action
The Eastern Front took the biggest part of the Wespe production and the
first Panzerartillerie Abteilung equipped with this vehicle appeared in
March 1943. They saw extensive service alongside the Hummel, first at
Kursk, then on all three Eastern fronts. They were so successful that,
after reading reports, Hitler ordered all other conversions base on the
Panzer II chassis to be stopped and reserved for the Wespe only. By the
summer of 1944 some Abteilungen were sent in Normandy as reinforcements.
They fought in Italy as well, taking part in the pounding of Allied
forces in the Anzio pocket and defending the Caesar and Gustav lines. No
less than 36 Panzer divisions, including SS and special units received
Wespes, seeing active service on all fronts after 1943. By March 1945
307 were still in service. The crews praised its reliability and
mobility but despised the lack of protection, both in thickness and
height. The fighting compartment was also very cramped. The loaders
working at the back end of the superstructure were the most exposed.
Surviving Wespes can be seen at Saumur and Bayeux (France), Koblenz
(Germany) and Kubinka (Russia).

"It must be noted that, before the Wespe, another SPG was based on the Panzer II chassis, the rare (only 12 built) 15 cm (5.9 in) sIG 33 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf) which fought in North Africa."

Was this the only German AFV of World War 2 that served in just one theatre?

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About Me

Mitch Williamson is a technical writer with an
interest in military and naval affairs. He has published articles in
Cross & Cockade International and Wartime magazines. He was
research associate for the Bio-history Cross in the Sky, a book about
Charles 'Moth' Eaton's career, in collaboration with the flier's son,
Dr Charles S. Eaton. He also assisted in picture research for John
Burton's Fortnight of Infamy.
Mitch is now publishing on the WWW various specialist websites combined
with custom website design work.